Driving Towards the Era of Self Driving Vehicles

Driving Towards the Era of Self Driving Vehicles

CETRAN and the Test Circuit puts Singapore on the forefront globally for developing regulatory standards for testing Self Driving Vehicles.​

In another of its collaborations with industry, NTU is leading the research activities at the new Centre of Excellence for Testing & Research of AVs – NTU (CETRAN) and Test Circuit. Launched in 2016 at CleanTech Park in Jurong Innovation District, this project sees NTU researchers developing and testing requirements for Self Driving Vehicles (SDVs). This paves the way for SDVs to eventually be integrated with existing road traffic, enabling more widespread deployment of such vehicles. Collaborating with NTU are Land Transport Authority (LTA) and JTC who are managing the 1.8-ha circuit. The establishment of CETRAN represents a potential move by Singapore to lead in the setting of regulatory standards to test and certify SDVs for use on public roads. NTU’s track record of engineering and industry collaboration in the area of self-driving and electric vehicles prove invaluable for this collaboration.

NTU will lead research activities at CETRAN, operate the Test Circuit and evaluate the SDV prototypes to be tested here. CETRAN will house an expert research team formed by NTU that will perform testing in a computer-simulated environment representative of Singapore's traffic conditions, to complement the tests being performed in the test circuit. The LTA-NTU agreement will see CETRAN being operated by NTU for a period of five years, during which NTU will collaborate with various international Testing, Inspection and Certification bodies, research institutions and industry partners on global standards and test requirements.

Benefits:

Moves Singapore closer towards goal of using Self-Driving Vehicles on public roads safely

Paves the way for developing of international standards for testing requirements of SDVs

Positions Singapore as attractive place for local and international parties to test and receive certification for, and to trial and deploy SDVs.

“NTU's strong track record of engineering and industry collaboration in the area of electric and self-driving vehicles forms a solid foundation for the new Centre and Test Circuit. NTU will lend its internationally recognised research expertise to the Centre in all important aspects of self-driving vehicles, such as its guidance and decision systems and inbuilt safety measures."

Moving Forward:

Plans are in the works to extend trials of SDVs at more industrial and business parks. A distinct possibility for the future is the formation of more industry partnerships to develop and implement future mobility solutions beyond SDVs. A broader future goal would also be to enhance the connectivity within our industrial parks and to major transport nodes.​